Window channeling machine



July 30, 1957. w. s. BAKER EI'AL WINDOW CHANNELING MACHINE 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 5, 1952 INVENTOR Walter Scott Baker BYHowardM- De e M *f k e ATTORNEYS y 30, 1957 W. s. BAKER ETAL v 2,800,959

WINDOW GHANLJELING MACHINE Filed Nov. 5, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 an 72uunuu 64 INVENTOR 7 Walter Scott Baker Haward MDodge i j E ATTORNEYSUnite WINDOW CHANNELING. MACHINE Application November .1952, SerialNo.318,9il8

vtllaims. (Cl. 164-89) This invention relates to. a machine forperforating and otherwise deforming strips and bands of resilientmaterial. In particular,.it relates to a. machine for perforating stripstock witha positive punch return mechanism and with resilient. stripstock feed rolls, at least one of which comprises inner and outerconcentric. cylinders withvan annulus. of;rubber=like material insubstantial elongation and radial compression disposed between them.

Bands or. strips-of thin-metal and plastic stock are often punched orotherwise deformed so as to provide them withvarious; combinations ofrigidity andflexibility in alternate planes. For example, strips ofmetal are punched for formation ofthe frames for Window channel inautomobile bodies, said channelbeing laterally rigid but transverselyflexible to provide for fitting'into the automobile window contour.Likewise, strips and bands of material are fed into machines for makinglarge numbers of .stampings or punchings in conventional punch and diemechanisms.

In the above type of operations the strip is always momentarily arrestedand deformed and then fed on through the machine. One of the mostdifficult problems is that of feedingthe strip into the machine andcoordinating, the rate of feed with the intermittent and momentaryarrest of the strip.

Accordingly, it is one object of the subject invention to provide meansfor feeding strip into punching or perforating machines which isrelatively simple and inexpensive and automatically provides for theintermittent and momentary arrest of the strip.

It is another object of the subject invention to provide means in thefeed rolls to take up and compensate for the momentary arrest inpunching and deforming operations which in no way mars or defaces thestrip and which does not place undue strain on the punch.

Still other objects of the present invention are to provide a punchingmachine which is not subject to excessive Wear and break down and whichis still relatively inexpensive to build and maintain.

Other objects and advantages become apparent from the followingdescription of several embodiments of the invention made in connectionwith the accompanying drawing in which like numerals refer to like partsand in which;

Figure 1 shows a front elevation of a strip perforating machineembodying the subject invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of this machine taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section of the feed rolls taken along line33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the feed rolls, the punch impact lever, and thepunch return crank;

Fig. 5 is a side view with portions broken away of the feed rolls andthe punch and die mechanism of the subject machine;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the punch and die mechanism of the subjectmachine; and

Fig. 7 is a detailed view of the punch impact lever,

.ittes Patent O1 punch, punch. return crank, and die of the. subjectmachine.

Referring particularly to the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a machine.embodyingthe subject. invention. This machine comprises a framel'provided-with a punch and die mechanism.11 operated by cams 13 and 14on flywheel 2. Feed rolls 6.and 7, mounted on the frame, feed or supplythe strip material to the punch and die mechanism. The flywheel and feedrollsare driven through a driving means comprising a motor 23, a. gearreduction box 24 and a link belt'and sprocketarrangement offthe gearreduction box to the flywheel and top feed roll respectively. Theflywheel itselfis supported by brackets 28 and 31 mounted on uprightposts 3,.4 and 1.6 which are in turn integral with the frame. The. stripmaterial 5 is supplied to the feed rolls from a reel 10 or other supplymeans located to the left: of the motor.

Fig. 3' shows the feed roll arrangement contemplated by the subjectinvention.v In this arrangement, top feed roll.6 is drivenby. sprocket34 keyed to its shaft or axle 39"through. key 41'. The shaft in turn issupported by plates 42 and 43'located at either side thereof and rotatesin roller bearingspneedle bearings, bushings .or the like. Topvfeed'roll' 6 comprises an outer cylinder or outer'member'36. andaniinner cylinder or inner member 38 with an annulus Of' 1llbbI"-llk6.material 37. in substantial elongation and radial compression. disposedor located between them. The top roll 6 is keyed to the shaft 39"through 35.. Obviously, other means can be employed to unite thesprocket and feed roll with the shaft such as' press fittings or'machinescrews of. various sorts. The outer contact face of outer roll 36 can beroughenedasbya knurling or cross-hatching or other devices to increaseits grip on the strip stock. Any such knurling, however, tends to marthe surface of the strip stock and as" such is not particularlydesirable except when necessary to provide friction and grip. betweenthe feed roll and strip stock.

The inner andonter cylinders of the top roll can be substantiallyparallel or can diverge at the center and converge near the edges asshown in Fig. 3. In any case, the inner member should be in a radiallyspacedrelation to the outer member and substantially concentric with itto provide for the intermediate rubber annulus. Any of the resilientmountings in which the rubber annulus is in substantial elongation andradial compression are suitable for this purpose. United States PatentNo. 2,572,215 to Swart issued October 23, 1951, United States Patent No.2,517,791 to Hutton issued August 8, 1950 and United States Patent No.2,598,115 to Dodge issued May 27, 1952 disclose several species of suchmountings and further describe their characteristics.

The bottom feed roll 7 of the subject apparatus is mounted on singleball bearings 46 which are in turn mounted on shaft 47. The shaft issupported by plates 48 and 49. The surface of the bottom feed roll canlikewise be knurled or otherwise roughened to provide a better gripbetween it and the feed roll. I have found, however, that it ispreferable to knurl or roughen the surface of one feed roll only,preferably the driving feed roll and not the idler feed roll, so thatone face of the strip is clear and unmarred and always presentable. Thebottom feed roll of Fig. 3 can be replaced by a resilient feed rollsimilar to top feed roll 6 as desired. In most applications, I havefound that only one of the two feed rolls need by a resilient roll andprovide the resilient, torsional, takeup means required by the subjectinvention. This, of course, depends upon the thickness and rigidity ofthe material being perforated or otherwise deformed and the amount oftake-up or wind-up required of the feed rolls during the actual.punching or stamping operation. Furthermore, we preferably. use only oneresilient feed roll and drive this resilient feed roll and allow theother roll .to rotate as an idler. In some cases, however, both feedrolls may be driven and may be resilient rolls as already described.Inaccordance, with this invention, wil preferably drive the resilientroll and not the rigid ro I a a a The feed rolls should be set so thatthey are notasfar apart as the thickness of the material being fedthrough them or so that they are slightly closer together than thethickness of material being fed through them. Thus a grip or initialcompression on the strip material is provided. The resilient mountingand particularly the rubber annulus of the mounting gives as necessaryto accommodate the strip material. In this way the resilient feed rollperforms a dual function by providing a torsional spring take-up whenthe strip material is momentarily arrested and by providing a resilientand spring-like grip on the .strip material as it passes through therolls.

Figs. 4 to 7 illustrate the punch and diearrangement of the subjectinvention. In thisarrangement, a punch 8 18 mounted in slot 69 in punchblock 67 and the punch 'block is in turn screwed to or otherwisemade'integral with top body block 59 or to the frame itself (see Figs..5

. and 7). The die 64 is mounted-in die block 66 which is screwed to orotherwise made integral with bottom .body

block 61 or with the machine frame. As shown in Fig.6, .machine screw 78screw the punch block 67 tothe top body block 59 and machine screws 79screw the die block i 66 to bottom body block 61. Intermediate thepunchand die and the body blocks is a slot or passage 65 for the strip 5.This passage is adapted to accommodate the Various gaugesof strip to beused and extends from the feed rolls to the punch and die andon throughthe appa- .ratus. If'desired, wear plates 62 and 63 may be provided onthe body blocks to protect the body blocks against wear and to controlthepassagethicknesses. Pins-76 and 77 unite the body blocks with theframe and screw into the frame at the base thereof. The pins areremovable to provide for adjustment; of the, body blocks such as byshimming or grinding. The plates 42 and 48 supporting the feed rolls arealso screwed to the body blockswith machine screws 52 and 53 and areadjustable therewith.

4 impact lever and then earns 14 strike the punch return arm 72. Itshould be noted that arm 72 extends to the side of the wheel so as not.to interfere with the other cams 13. If desired, a spring or rubberband 55 can be attached to the end of arm 71 from extension rod 50 onone of the machine screws 78 to minimize chatter and provide smootheroperation.

Pairs of cams 13 and 14;should be spaced and adjusted about thecircumference of the flywheel to coordinate with the radius of theflywheel, number of cams on the flywheel, speed of rotation of theflywheel and punching cycle. Under some circumstances, usually with slowspeeds of rotation and large radiusflywheels, a plurality of single camsor actuating means may be employed on the flywheel so that eachcamstrikes both the punch impact lever and punch return bell crank arm.When regular and evenly spaced perforations are desired, the cams shouldbe evenlyspaced about, the circumference .of the flywheel. Otherwise,the cams should be. spaced. in accordance with the spacing of theperforations.

.The flywheelshould be relatively heavy to provide adequate momentum andto securely. mount the cams. As shown in Fig. 5, cams 13 are evenlyspaced about the circumference of the Wheel and bolted to it with bolts56. Said cams are shown herein as cylindrical cam rollers oriballbearings which are found to be quite satisfactory and 'to minimizewear on both the impact lever and cam. A recess 81 (Fig. 2) is providedin the wheel for each impact roller 13. Cam 14 is bolted to the wheelwith bolts 57 and can be adjusted in slots 58 as necessary. Gener- Lallyonly one of the cams need'be adjustable and this ;should preferably bethe bell crank arm cam 14. The

- lwheel itself is mounted on hub 33 on axle 217 which is in The punch 8is engaged by an impact bar or lever 9 intermediate the punch andflywheel that is pivoted on pin 54 mounted on cars 73 on the top bodyblock. 'One or more impact earns 13 on the flywheel strike hammer :blowsonthe bar 9 as the'wheel rotates and force and advance the punch 8through the strip material. Punch 8 can also be provided with a knob orhead of other conventional design integral with or resting upon it so asto absorb the blow from cam 13. Generally, however, it is preferable toprovide an impact bar or punch lever resting on the head of the punchand separate from the punch so as to minimize lateral forces against.the punch and minimize punch breakage. a a 1 Bell crank 12 pivoted onpin 51 provides a positive act ing punch return means to withdraw thepunch from the turn supported by hearings in brackets 28 and 31.

' The driving means for the machine shown comprises an electric motor23and gear box or gear reduction unit 24 mounted on the frame. Sprocket19 on the. axle 22 Tof the 'gear reduction unit drives chain belt'orjlink belt 117 which drives sprocketr26 keyed to shaft 27.of.the fly-'.wheel. Likewise,'sprocket 21 on axle 22 .drives belt 18 .jwhich in turndrives the sprocket 3470f the top feed roll 6. Obviously other drivingmeans such as a pulley and V- ,belt arrangement are equally satisfactoryprovided that they do not slip. The rotation of the flywheel 2'and the'feed rolls 6 and 7 is preferably synchronized or coordi nated for bestresults as shown in the drawings. i It is understood that the feed rollof the subject invention can be adapted to any punching, stamping,coining,

drawing, or other machine into'which a strip ofma'terial is continuouslyfed and in which the movement of the material is momentarily halted orarrested while it is deformed. The above machines are furthercharacterized by having relatively short and rapid. punching or stripmaterial and complete the punching cycle. 'Bell a crank 12 has two arms,arm 71 whichzis approximately or roughly perpendicular to the punch andarm 72 which is. roughly parallel to the punch; The end 83'of arm 71fits in central longitudinal slot or opening 80 formed in the'punch;This slot extendsalong the line or axis of movement of the punch asshown-j The'other arm 72 .extends out from thepivot pin to a point-adjacent the circumference of the flywheel andcoextensive with the.head of the punch. Impact earns -14 on the flywheel are set so as tostrike the end '82 of arm 72 when it isin the .raised position and thepunch is in the down position (Fig. 7). Thus as the flywheel rotates,one of -the cams 13 strikes bar 9 or the head of the punch and forcesthe :punch through the strip material and immediately there- :after oneof the'cams 14 strikes-arm 72' and returnsgthe .punch to its initialposition. i The flywheel shown rotates counterclockwise so that cams13first strike the punch deforming cycles so that the strip material isfed .to. it .in a substantially continuous fashion. In any such cases,feed rolls according to the subject invention can be utilized -totake-up and automatically compensate for the stoppage and then releasethe energy so stored and feed the material forward. It is alsounderstood that the strip material can be bands or strips of ferrousmetal, brass, copper and the like or even plastics such as nylon andpolyvinyl chloride. w I i It will be understood that, in accordance withthe provisions of the patent statutes, variations and modifications ofthe specific devices disclosed herein may be made without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. ,7 What we claim is:

1. In a punching machine for perforating strip stock I v having a frame,a punch mounted for reciprocation on blows to said punch, theimprovement which comprises: means including a pair of feed rolls forcontinuously feeding strip material to said punch in said transversedirection to be perforated by said punch, one of said feed rollscomprising inner and outer rigid annular members and an annulus ofelastic rubber-like material in substantial elongation and radialcompression disposed between said rigid members, said annulus providinga resilient torsional spring which permits limited rotation of the outerrigid member relative to the inner member due to variation in themovement of the strip material when movement of the strip material isretarded by engagement with the punch, said outer member engaging saidstrip material and holding said material against the other feed roll,and means for continuously driving said one of said feed rolls and saidimpact wheel in synchronism.

2. Strip feeding means for a high speed punching machine having a frame,a punch mounted for reciprocation on said frame in one direction andheld against movement in a transverse direction,.an impact wheel mountedfor rotation on said frame and having at least one impact member thereonfor striking hammer blows on said punch, and means for rotating thewheel at high velocity, said feeding means comprising: a pair of feedrollers for engaging the opposite faces of a sheet of strip material tofeed said material past said punch in said transverse direction andmeans for driving one of said feed rollers continuously, said one feedroller comprising an outer rigid strip-engaging sleeve, an inner corespaced from and concentric to said sleeve, and torsional take-up meanscomprising an annulus of rubber-like material in substantial elongationand radial compression between said core and said sleeve, said sleevebeing driven from said core solely through said annulus and beingrotatable relative to said core to compensate for temporary stoppage ofthe strip by the punch during the punching operations.

3. A feeding mechanism for a punching machine having a stationary die, apunch mounted for reciprocation toward and away from the die, and meansfor reciproeating the punch at high velocity, said feeding mechanismcomprising: a pair of feed members, one feed member comprising an innerdriving member, an outer rigid stripengaging sleeve, and a resilientrubber torsion spring between said driving member and said sleeve, andmeans for continuously rotating said driving member at a predeterminedspeed in timed relation to the operation of said punch, said sleevebeing free to rotate slower than said member during the time movement ofthe strip is interrupted by the punch so that torsional energy is storedin said rubber spring and being free to rotate faster than said corewhen the strip is released by the punch to expend the energy stored insaid spring.

4. Strip feeding means for a high speed punching machine having a frame,a punch mounted for reciprocation on said frame in one direction, meansrestraining movement of the punch in a transverse direction, an impactwheel mounted for rotation on said frame and having at least one impactmember thereon for striking hammer blows on said punch, and means forrotating the Wheel at high velocity, said feeding means comprising: apair of feed rollers for en aging the opposite faces of a sheet of stripmaterial to feed the material past said punch in said transversedirection, one feed roller comprising an outer rigid strip-engagingmember, an inner driving member, and a torsional spring operablyconnected between said strip-engaging member and said driving member,said members being rotatable relative to each other to compensate forchanges in the rate of movement of said strip material due to engagementof the strip material with the punch, and motor means for rotating saiddriving member to cause feeding of the strip material by said feedrollers.

5. In a machine for punching strip stock having a frame, punch mountedfor reciprocation on said frame, an impact Wheel rotatably mounted onsaid frame, and one or more impact members spaced about the periphery ofsaid wheel for imparting hammer blows to said punch, the improvementwhich comprises: means including a pair of feed rolls for feeding stripmaterial to said punch to be perforated by said punch, one of said feedrolls comprising driving and driven members and a torsional springinterposed between said members for transmitting rotational energy fromthe driving to the driven member, and means for continuously rotatingsaid driving member in synchronism with said impact wheel, said drivenmember engaging the strip stock to feed the stock at varying speeds, thedriven member rotating slower than the driving member during the timemovement of the strip is interrupted by the punch so that torsionalenergy is stored in said spring and rotating faster than the drivingmember when the strip is released by the punch due to the energy storedin said spring.

6. A machine for perforating strip stock comprising a frame, a punch anda die mounted on said frame, said punch and die being mounted so as toprovide a passage for the strip stock between them, means to advancesaid punch through the strip stock, means to retract said punch, feedrolls for feeding said strip stock through the punch and die, means forrestraining movement of said punch and said die in the direction of feedof said strip stock at least one of said feed rolls comprising inner andouter concentric cylinders with an annulus of rubberlike material insubstantial elongation and radial compression disposed between them, andmeans for continuously driving one of said feed rolls in synchronismwith said punch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS692,122 Cumms Jan. 28, 1902 1,747,240 Haupt Feb. 18, 1930 2,229,488Barbieri Jan. 21, 1941 2,517,791 Hutton Aug. 8, 1950 2,572,215 SwartOct. 23, 1951 2,598,115 Dodge May 27, 1952 2,292,851 Tykal Aug. 11, 1952

